Shi Feng's words were like a drop of water falling into a silent ocean—though it could cause no ripple on the surface, the ripples from that drop spread outward across the water.
The instant Shi Feng finished his quiet question, both Bai Qingxue and Water Crimson Rose showed a flicker of something unusual in their otherwise calm gazes.
It was not excitement or elation, nor was it the feeling of finding someone who understood them.
It was simply a trace of surprise.
They were puzzled as to how Shi Feng knew about this matter.
The flicker vanished from their pupils almost immediately, replaced by the usual darkness and stillness.
Water Crimson Rose and Bai Qingxue exchanged a single glance. Then Water Crimson Rose turned to Shi Feng, a faint, detached smile appearing on her stunningly beautiful face.
"As expected, nothing can be kept from you, Guild Master. We don't know exactly how long we lived in that world."
"However, based on our estimates, it should have been about eighty years."
……
"Eighty years?"
Shi Feng couldn't help but draw a sharp breath, his scalp tingling.
He had suspected that Water Crimson Rose and Bai Qingxue had spent a considerable amount of time in that special world—ten years, even twenty years, was not out of the question.
But eighty years…
For many people, an entire lifetime lasted only eighty years. And during those eighty years, Water Crimson Rose and Bai Qingxue had spent every single day fighting and killing. Just the thought of it was enough to send chills down one's spine.
Eighty years spent entirely alone—the loneliness was beyond imagination. An ordinary person would have gone mad long ago.
Yet Water Crimson Rose's tone was utterly flat, as though she were talking about someone else's story, something that had nothing to do with her whatsoever…
"Eighty years…" Shi Feng gazed quietly at Water Crimson Rose and Bai Qingxue, his eyes filled with an indescribable complexity. "No wonder I've felt like I was looking at monsters ever since I first saw you."
From the very first moment he laid eyes on Water Crimson Rose and Bai Qingxue, he had sensed that the two of them were no longer entirely human.
Now, after hearing Water Crimson Rose's words, he understood everything.
Eighty years of relentless, frenzied combat, day after day—their battle experience alone could rightfully be called the best in the world. Compared to his own ten years of combat experience in the Divine Realm, it was not even worth mentioning. And that was before accounting for the fact that the two of them were prodigies.
Right now, if it came down to pure combat ability, he was probably on the level of an infant compared to Water Crimson Rose and Bai Qingxue.
An infant trying to read an adult's thoughts and gauge their skill was nothing short of a joke—let alone when those adults were grandmasters of battle.
Shi Feng didn't know whether to feel glad or helpless…
"Guild Master, Mu Xin from the Frost Heaven Sword just contacted us." Liang Jing spoke up suddenly while Shi Feng was lost in thought. "Mu Xin says we should head to the imperial capital of the Fire Dragon Empire today. They're allowing a maximum of twenty people."
"It seems they're finally ready to make their move." Shi Feng wasn't particularly surprised, since Duan Hanshan had already mentioned that the Frost Heaven Sword would be taking action soon. "Did she explain their plan to you?"
"She did." Liang Jing nodded, her expression turning slightly grim. "Guild Master, are we really going to participate in this operation with the Frost Heaven Sword?"
"If I had my way, I wouldn't. But the price the Frost Heaven Sword is offering is really hard to refuse," Shi Feng said with a bitter smile.
Three reserved spots for the Upper Zone—this was not something that came along every day. Even the great superpowers would fight tooth and nail for such an opportunity.
And beyond that, the Upper Zone spots served another crucial purpose.
On the surface, Water Crimson Rose and Bai Qingxue had gained eighty years of combat experience in that special world, granting them inhuman levels of fighting prowess. However, there was also a tremendous drawback.
Though they had lived eighty years in that special world, the reality was that only a few days had passed in the outside world. It was not a genuine, lived experience.
The moment they left that special world, their brains had absorbed eighty years' worth of memories in a single burst, all of it flooding into the deepest recesses of their minds. The toll this took on both their brains and their bodies was beyond imagination.
In his previous life, players who had spent just two or three years in such worlds had gradually begun to experience problems afterward, eventually spending a full month bedridden in a hospital.
The reason was that processing these memories placed an enormous strain on a player's mental state—it was not a good thing.
And Water Crimson Rose and Bai Qingxue had spent eighty years in there. He dared not even imagine how severe the backlash would be.
For the sake of their safety, he had no choice but to take the two of them to the Upper Zone.